CN203896631U - Tamper-proof locking fastener outer cover - Google Patents

Abstract

The utility model provides an outer cover of a tamper-proof locking fastener. A tamper-evident fastener assembly includes a fastener cover having a first flange and a second flange attached at one end. The first flange has an elongated opening slidably receiving the fastener shaft, and the second flange has an opening disposed closer to the second end of the outer cover than the first end. The outer cover is movable to a first position such that the fastener head is operatively accessed through the second opening and the fastener shaft is positioned at an end of the elongated opening proximate to the second end of the outer cover. The outer cover is also moveable to a second position such that the outer cover is in an obstructed position with respect to the fastener head and the shaft is positioned at an end of the elongated opening proximate to the first end of the outer cover.

Description

Tamper-resistant locking fastener cover

technical field

The present disclosure relates to a tamper-resistant fastener device, particularly for use on power distribution and transmission facility equipment such as circuit breakers and transformers.

Background technique

Unauthorized access to internal components of electrical utility equipment, such as transformers and circuit breakers, can cause serious and costly damage to parties that depend on reliable electric power, including customers, security forces, businesses, etc. causing huge losses. However, with additional security measures to discourage unauthorized access, even individuals who are authorized to access and work on said electrical utility equipment may be at risk when performing their tasks due to the increased difficulty of accessing encountered relatively large troubles. As one example shows, the use of specialty fasteners that cannot be loosened by conventional tools can cause delays in necessary repairs by authorized individuals, especially during emergencies where rapid access by authorized individuals with only conventional tools is available. Accordingly, it would be beneficial to have a fastener system that both allows immediate authorized entry by personnel with only conventional tools and secures equipment from unauthorized access.

Contents of the invention

A tamper-resistant fastener assembly includes a fastener cover having a first flange and a second flange connected at one end. The first flange has an elongated opening that slidably receives the shaft of the fastener, and the second flange has an opening disposed closer to the second end of the outer cover than to the first end. The outer cover is movable to a first position such that the fastener head is operatively accessible through the second opening and the fastener shaft is positioned at an end of the elongated opening proximate to the second end of the outer cover . The cover is also moveable to a second position such that the cover is in an obstructed position with respect to the fastener head and the fastener shaft is positioned at an end of the elongated opening proximate to the first end of the cover.

Description of drawings

In the drawings, the structure and method of describing items of a tamper evident latch fastener cover are illustrated together by way of the detailed description provided below. It should be noted that a single component can be realized by multiple components, or multiple components can also be realized by a single component. The drawings described above are not drawn to scale, and the proportions of certain components have been exaggerated for ease of illustration. Further, in the following drawings and descriptions, similar components are indicated using the same reference numerals in the drawing and written description, respectively.

FIG. 1 illustrates a partial perspective view of a circuit breaker 100 with a tamper-evident fastener cover 106 .

FIG. 2 illustrates a perspective view of the fastener cover 106 .

FIG. 3 illustrates another perspective view of the fastener cover 106 .

FIG. 4 illustrates a perspective view of the fastener cover 106 in a locked position.

FIG. 5 illustrates a perspective view of the fastener cover 106 in an unlocked position.

FIG. 6 illustrates a cross-sectional view of the fastener cover 106 in the latched position.

Detailed ways

Referring to FIG. 1 , a circuit breaker 100 having an outer body 102 includes a tamper-resistant fastener 104 with a fastener cover 106 that prevents access to the fastener 104 . As shown in FIG. 1 , the cover 106 is protected by a lock 108 . In accordance with the present invention, locks including, but not limited to, padlocks, combination locks, cable locks and key locks with various latch or key mechanisms, housings and shackles or handles may be used. Additionally, the tamper-evident fasteners can be implemented with other electrical devices including, but not limited to, transformers.

Referring to FIGS. 2 and 3 , the fastener housing 106 has a first flange 110 and a second flange 112 . The first flange 110 and the second flange 112 are connected to an end 114 of the outer cover 106 by a wall 116 . The first flange 110 has an elongated opening 118 and the second flange has an opening 120 . According to an aspect of the present invention, elongated opening 118 and opening 120 may take various shapes other than those shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, including but not limited to rectangular or other polygonal shapes. According to another aspect of the invention, the elongated opening 118 has a larger cross-sectional area than the opening 102 . According to yet another aspect of the present invention, the elongated opening 118 has a first end 117 and a second end 119; wherein the first end 117 is adjacent to the first end 114 of the outer cover 106, while the second end 119 is adjacent to the second end 115 of the outer cover 106 . According to yet another aspect of the invention, the elongated opening may extend closer to the end 114 of the outer cover 106 than the opening 120 .

Referring to FIG. 4 , the outer cover 106 is shown in a closed or latched position with respect to a rotating member 200 , which may be a socket bolt with a groove 208 as shown in FIG. 5 . Still referring to FIG. 4 , the aforementioned rotating member 200 is slidably received in the elongated opening 118 . The rotating member 200 is positioned proximate to the first end 117 when the outer cover 106 is in the closed or latched position. According to another aspect of the present invention, the rotating member 200 is positioned closer to the first end 117 than to the second end 119 when the outer cover 106 is in the closed or latched position. Referring to FIG. 4 , the shackle 204 of the padlock 202 can pass through both the elongated opening 118 on the first flange 110 and the opening 120 on the second flange 112 . In such an arrangement, the padlock 202 can removably secure the value cover 106 when the lock 202 is in the closed or latched position. When in the closed position, the outer cover 106 is in an obstructed position with respect to the head 206 of the aforementioned rotating member 200 . The cover 106 prevents access to the rotating member 200 when locked in this position.

Referring to Figure 5, the outer cover 106 is shown in an open position. The swivel member 200 may be positioned proximate to the second end 119 of the elongated opening 118 when the cover 106 is in the open position. According to another aspect of the present invention, when the cover 106 is in the open position, the rotating member 200 may be positioned closer to the second end 119 than to the first end 117 . In the open position, the head 206 of the rotating member 200 is accessible through the opening 120 . According to an aspect of the invention, when the cover 106 is in the open position, the recess or receptacle 208 of the fastener 200 can be accessed via the opening 120, for example using a corresponding tool. Therefore the rotating part 200 can be rotated or adjusted as desired.

Referring to FIG. 6 , the shaft 240 of the rotating member 200 extends from the head 206 at one end of the member 200 through the elongated opening 118 . A spacer 242 extending at least partially into the elongated opening 118 between the rotating member 200 and the outer cover 106 is configured to wrap around the shaft 240 and slidably engage the elongated opening 118 of the outer cover 106 . As it passes through the elongated opening 118 and the second opening 120, the locking hook 204 is placed in a blocking position such that when the locking hook 204 is placed through the first opening 118 and the second opening 120, the outer cover 106 cannot be moved to the open position middle. The gap 250 between the first flange 110 and the second flange 112 can be wide enough to allow the head 206 of the rotating member 200 to move between the first flange 110 and the second flange 112 while the outer cover 106 is in the Moves between open and closed positions.

In this disclosure, a reference number with an alphabetic index indicates one of the illustrated elements, and a reference number without an alphabetic index indicates one or more of the illustrated elements. For the purposes of this disclosure, "a" or "an" means "one or more" unless stated otherwise. The term "comprising", as used in the specification and claims, is intended to have a similar meaning to the transitional term "comprising" used in each claim. Also, where the term "or" is used (eg, A or B), it is intended to mean "A or B or both". The term "only A or B but not both" will be used when the applicant intends to indicate "only A or B but not both". Therefore, the use of the term "or" herein is inclusive and not exclusive. See Bryan. A. Garner, A Dictionary of Modern Legal Words and Usage 6116, (2d. Ed. 1995). Likewise, the terms "in" or "in" as used in the specification and claims are intended to additionally mean "on" or "over" . As used herein, the term "about" can be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art, and can vary within a certain range according to the content in which it is used. If the use of the term is unclear to those skilled in the art in which it is used within a given range, "about" will mean up to ±10% of its actual value. "From about A to B" is intended to mean "from about A to about B," where A and B are both specified values.

While the present disclosure illustrates various embodiments, and these various embodiments are described in considerable detail, it is not the applicant's intent to limit the scope of the claimed invention to such detail. Additional advantages and modifications will readily appear to those skilled in the art. Therefore, the invention in its broader scope is not limited to the specific details and embodiments shown and described. Accordingly, departures from such details may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention and the scope of the applicant's claims. Furthermore, the above-described embodiments are illustrative and no element or feature is essential to all possible claimed combinations in this or a later application.

Claims (10)

1. An anti-tampering device comprising: a fastener having a shaft and a head disposed at a first end of the fastener shaft; a fastener cover having a first flange attached to one end of the cover and a second flange, the first flange having a structure for slidably receiving the fastener shaft an elongated opening for the rod, the second flange has an opening disposed closer to the second end of the outer cover than the first end, and, wherein the cover is movable to a first position wherein the head is operatively accessed through the second opening, and the shaft is disposed in close proximity to the elongated opening of the cover one end of the second end portion; and the cover is movable to a second position, wherein the cover is in an obstructed position relative to the head and the shaft is disposed adjacent the elongated opening one end of the first end portion of the outer cover. 2. The device of claim 1, wherein when the cover is in the second position, the first opening and the second opening are positioned to receive a shackle of a lock. 3. The device of claim 2, wherein the lock is selectively removable. 4. The device of claim 1, wherein the fastener is a socket bolt. 5. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein the sleeve bolt has a recess operatively accessible through the second opening when the outer cover is in the first position. 6. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising: a spacer having walls forming a channel encasing the shaft, the spacer slidably engaged with the cover and at least partially disposed between the fastener and the cover in the opening in the second flange of the 7. The device of claim 1, wherein the first flange and the second flange are planar and parallel to each other. 8. The device of claim 1, wherein the first opening has a larger cross-sectional area than the second opening and extends closer to the outer surface than the second opening. The first end of the cover. 9. An anti-tamper device comprising: a fastener having an elongated shaft and a head disposed at a first end of the fastener shaft; a fastener cover having a first flange and a second flange attached at one end of the cover; the first flange has a feature for slidably receiving the fastener an elongated opening of the shaft, the second flange having a second opening positioned closer to the second end of the cover than the first end; when the cover is in the In the second position, the elongated opening and the second opening are positioned to receive a catch of a selectively removable lock, wherein the cover is movable to a first position wherein the head is operatively accessed through the second opening, and the shaft is positioned proximate to the elongated opening of the cover one end of the second end portion; and the cover is movable to a second position, wherein the cover is in an obstructed position relative to the head and the shaft is disposed in the elongated opening An end adjacent to the first end of the outer cover. 10. A tamper resistant cover for a rotating member comprising: an outer cover having a first flange connected at one end of the outer cover and spaced apart to receive the head of the rotating member and a second flange, the first flange having a structure configured to slide an elongated opening for receiving the shaft of the rotating member, the second flange having an opening disposed closer to the second end of the outer cover than the first end; and wherein the cover is movable to a first position wherein the head is operatively accessed through the second opening and the shaft is positioned proximate to the elongated opening of the cover an end of the second end portion; the cover is movable to a second position, wherein the cover is in an obstructed position relative to the head and the shaft is disposed adjacent the elongated opening an end of the first end portion of the outer cover.